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(Roman Catholic priest Father Elmer Cajilig smiles as he poses with his common law wife Kristine and their children after a holy mass at a chapel in Lambunao, Iloilo on Panay island in central Philippines January 11, 2015. REUTERS/Erik De Castro)

from The Great Debate:

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On Sunday, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu made an impassioned call for French Jews to immigrate to Israel, after a series of attacks that began on the day of the Charlie Hebdo massacre killed four in a kosher supermarket in Paris. To many, it seemed like the most natural response he could deliver. After all, this is Israel’s stated raison d’etre: to provide refuge to persecuted Jews, wherever they may be. Underlying this sentiment is a deeper one, shared by Israelis across the political spectrum. It is the idea that Jewish life is at its most meaningful, and relevant, if carried out in the Jewish state.

from The Great Debate:

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When up to a dozen world leaders and roughly 1.5 million people gathered in Paris on Sunday to mourn the murder of 10 editors and cartoonists of the satirical newspaper Charlie Hebdo and seven other people by three French-born Islamic radicals, they wanted to demonstrate that Europe will always embrace liberal and tolerant values.

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(A voodoo priest (L) attends a mass ritual with his congregation during the Plain Du Nord Festival July 24, 2010. Thousands of believers sacrifice animals and pray in mud pools during the festival to ask the voodoo spirits and the dead for help with money, the future and children. REUTERS/Eduardo Munoz)

Author Profile

As Religion Editor based in Paris, I cover main religion developments, coordinate religion news coverage and run the FaithWorld blog. Since joining Reuters in 1977 in London, I've worked in Vienna, Geneva, Islamabad, Bangkok, Hong Kong, Bonn and Paris. My book Unchained Eagle: Germany after the Wall was published in 2000. In 2006, I received the European Religion Writer of the Year award and FaithWorld was awarded the RNA 2012 Best Online Section prize.